Today we went to a Reef Teach where we were able to learn about some of the things we will get to see when we go scuba diving in the Great Barrier Reef.

Did you know?

- Parrot Fish and some other varieties of fish can change from a girl to a boy!

· Clown anemone-fish can change from a boy to a girl!

· Many species of coral will look completely different from one another, just because of where they grow up. One species of coral, for instance, could look like a plate if its polyps, or one single coral animal, grow in one place, but could look like a bunch of fingers clustered together if the polyps end up somewhere else. Also, the same species could look purple or green or orange, because their color is determined by the algae, a type of plant, that grows on them.

· Some sea cucumbers are brown and look like poop!

· Sea cucumbers are related to star fish.

· In the whole world, there are 7 types of sea turtles. Six of them live in Australia!

· People have named the Maori Wrasse "Wally" because he is so friendly. He is so big, he bigger than a dog!

· Remember Nemo? He's actually likely to come chase you and bite you if you get too close to his nest!

· Damsel fish change colors when they are flustered. By simply waving your hand around them, they will turn from blue to green, and even to white sometimes!

· White-tipped SHARKS are common on the reef and we might possibly see some.

The Reef Teach includes about an hour of talking, but includes lots of visuals, vibrant pictures on a big screen and even get to hold examples of the fish and coral, especially those that are poisonous, so you can get a chance to touch them without any ill effects. The session I was at was filled with young adults and might have been a bit tough for a 10-year-old to sit through, but the groups are small, so I am sure they would adapt to their audience. I would recommend it.

Hannah, I'm not sure how many species off exotic fish are in the world, but there are 1,500 species of fish on the Great Barrier Reef! While we were snorkeling and scuba diving, we would see a lot of different types of fish all swimming very close to one another. It was really neat!